Chewin in the Chung

Abandoned Burmese pythons endangering Everglades

Well, sort of. I¡¦m sure the actual existence of the Everglades is not going to be in question due to the presence of Burmese Pythons. And I doubt they could be as much of a menace as fire ants. Still, there are two good things coming out of this: First, people now have the opportunity to see an alligator and a Burmese python fight, which is probably pretty awesome. The second is the conundrum this causes for an environmentalist. The rangers are shooting these wild animals because they are non-native, on the basis of potential damage they might cause to the ecosystem. If that's the rule, then that colony of rhesus monkeys that lives on the Silver River near Orlando has a hot date with me and a Striker Shotgun. Intrusive species indeed. (Just to be clear, I will be carrying the shotgun, not the Rhesus monkeys)

Also interesting to me is the fact that a license is required to own a poisonous snake in Florida. I thought it was illegal for any private citizen in Florida to own a poisonous snake. I wonder how hard those licenses are to obtain? And the article reports the knee-jerk reaction of some to the python problem: license ownership. I have a better idea: people who buy pythons also have to buy an alligator to keep the python from getting uppity.